2013 Officers

If you should go to the FMCA website and check the officers/contacts, it shows next years officers.
President:  Tom Roule
Vice President: Bev Brown
Treasurer: Harold Wollaber
Secretary: Donna Struble
National Director: John Pangburn
Alternate National Director: Alice Sprout
Newsletter Editor: Reed Johnson

Folks above don't assume their responsibilities until May. The officers on the left are still the reigning executives. We are just trying to help. Sorry if there is some confusion.

NEAR 2013 has been Cancelled

Some rumors that the 2013 Northeast Area Rally is cancelled have been confirmed. Below is the note from Paul Dubois (NMA President) and my opinion (only mine!).
I thought NEAR might be a replacement for our July rally if we didn't have a wagon master.

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From: Paul DuBois
Subject: Re: NEAR - 2013

Hi Tom  The rumor is true. Our Northeast Area Executive Board voted not to have a rally in 2013. This was not a decision that was made lightly but was necessary due to the lack of support from the chapters. As you are aware we have lost money since the economy took a hit in 2008. Although initially the losses were not significant and we continued hopeing for bettor days this has not happned. The lack of family coach attendance has caused a lack of vendors and therefore a lack of income. When our rally was in August we were very successful however the first meeting that I attended upon becoming Northeast Area VP I was informed that National was changing their convention to August and due to the Bylaws an Area rally cannot be held within 30 days of a convention. This caused us to change our rally to July. When I immediatly contected Tom Oddy at the Expo the only dates available were the present dates we have. At the annual meeting during Sam Allen's last year as President the membership agreed to a five year contract with the Champlain Valley Expo. That contract is still in effect. In order to cancel the 2013 rally we had to negotiate with them and they agreed to let us skip a year if we agreed not to have a rally at any other location during that period and to agree that the contract remained in effect and that I would remain in office to the end of my term. Unless we get more support from the chapters in our area than we presently do,  I fear for the future for any area rallies after our contact expires. For example we only received ads for our program book from 14 out of 41 chapters this year. I sent out 188 e-mails announcing the cancellation of the rally a few weeks ago and I received 23 bounce backs for undeliverable and only one reply and that was from Perfect Circle stating that they may be turning in their charter in the spring due to apathy in getting officers for the chapter. If these conflicting dates with our rally and lack of attendance continue to exist then I think that sends a signal to the Executive Board that the Area Rally is no longer important to them and should be discontinued.

Paul DuBois

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Below are my thoughts to Paul

Thanks for getting back to me Paul. Just a couple thoughts-

• Sharon is AND of Pen-NY Mixers and should had got an email at one of our addresses, but didn't.
• John Pangburn is ND of Fingerlakers and I would be surprised if he didn't let me know.as pres elect.
• Walt Linden ND of Pen-NY Mixers is a good friend and hasn't mentioned the cancellation.
• I was one of the one's who objected to a long term contract with any location when I was Pen-NY Mixer pres. So, while sympathetic to your problem, I understand chapter positions.
• Too bad chapters are turning in certification, but FMCA has lost sight of the purpose of the organization with lots of silly by laws about number of officers and structure..

At the risk of sticking my foot in my mouth stating the obvious, Article 3 of FMCA Constitution states the mission -

3. Mission and Purpose:

A. The Mission of FMCA is to bring together motor coach owners who share similar interests in congenial traveling, recreational, and social activities in order to preserve and perpetuate the traditional ideals and spirit of friendly and wholesome family fellowship as manifested by the founders of FMCA.

Most of us who run rallies have not committed to a place that requires vendors to survive.
I wish you and the executive board best of luck. You clearly have a challenge.
Take care, Tom

Hammondsport, NY

What do these things have in common: a beautiful lake, delectable wines, and extraordinary shopping? They're all cool, of course! Hammondsport has officially been named America's Coolest Small Town, by readers of Budget Travel magazine! And why wouldn't it be? This tiny town has it all - with a population of 750.

What do you think of the officers' meet there in October?

Roule's Fall Travel

New Orleans

November brought the celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary. To do something different than use the camper, we decided to take a cruise. Choosing to depart from New Orleans, we gave ourselves 4 days there before the cruise. 

Norwegian Star

Quite simply, new Orleans exceeded expectations. While there are a few vacant buildings that have their facades painted to look occupied, they have made great progress. Preparation for the super Bowl has work going on everywhere. Those who moved back after Katrina are loyal enthusiastic and friendly.

Tulum

From there, we caught the Norwegian Star for 7 days to the Western Caribbean and Mayan Ruins. Tulum is the most famous with remnants of the whole city still remaining.
We have more information on our family blog-
http://roulestravel.blogspot.com/

Also, a larger view of a picture can be seen by clicking on it. 
Return to the blog by clicking on the "x" on the top right corner. 

We got home just in time to get together with 40 family members for Thanksgiving.

We hope yours was as joyous of ours. 

Linden's 3rd Trip Report

October 28, 2012 - We drove to Sugarland, TX. (a suburb of Houston) and had a nice visit with Beryls sister-in-law. The temperature is in the sixties here. A nice change from the last few days of 30 degree weather in Missouri.
   Today is Sunday and here in Houston, TX we saw convoys of utility trucks headed east- bound. These men will be traveling for days in uncomfortable trucks to help restore power to the east coast after Sandy does her dirty work. The sad thing is that in less time than it takes for these men to arrive and help we will hear people complaining that their power has been off too long. That's American gratitude.
I have always expected neighboring states to help in the time of need. When we went to Florida to help my brother clean up after several hurricanes hit his area. I was surprised to see a crew from Toronto, Canada, in his neighborhood working to restore power. Canada is a good neighbor.

October 29th - As we were leaving Houston we stopped to get propane at $2.65 a gallon. In Corpus Christi we bought gas at Sams Club for $2.169.
    Arriving at Padre Island National Seashore was almost like arriving home. The lady at the main gate said she heard that we were coming and was glad to see us. The head Ranger who just happened to be at the gate and another Ranger also greeted us. As we traveled into the park we met more friends. From office staff, maintenance people, campers from past years, other volunteers, and Rangers. All claiming to be happy to see us back.
    Took Beryl to dinner for her birthday at her favorite Mexican restaurant. A volunteer couple that we met years ago went with us. We had a nice evening. Tomorrow we start work.

October 31st - We've been here a few days and the temperatures have been in the high 70s and low 80s in the day time and in the high 60s to low 70s at night. The wind is ever present.
    The road into the park has been repaved as has been the campground. New concrete picnic tables are being installed. Except for a few other improvements nothing else has changed. We start work on November 1st. We move into the campground host spot today. I already have my fishing license and some bait so I'm ready to go.

November 3rd - Went fishing and caught enough whiting for a couple of meals. Ate some that night. Can't beat fresh fish for supper.
    In the evening we were treated to an awesome light show. We never saw lightning in such rapid and continuous flashes which kept the sky lit continuously. What a show.

Walt Beryl Linden wlinden@juno.com

Walt Linden's Second Trip report

October 23, 2012 - Arrived in Branson, MO. We were surprised to see all the open land along Rte 76 (Main Street) until we remembered that a tornado went through the theater district earlier this year. Lots of cement slabs next to large parking lots. The Jubilee grocery store that was attached to Walmart is gone. Although Walmart received some damage they reopened the day after the tornado passed through. We started securing tickets for the shows right away. Five in all. 

October 24th - In the afternoon we went to the Paul Harris show. He is still as good as ever. Then we drove around and did a little sightseeing. After dinner we went to the Baldknobbers show. We started with the pre-show at 7:15 PM and got out of the regular show around 10:30 PM. The Mabe brothers started the Brandson Music Tradition in 1959. It is a family affair with most family members singing, playing an instrument or telling jokes. Grandpa Mabe plays Droopy Drawers. Now the 3rd generation is taking over. A grandson dressed like grandpa has a part in the show and some day will probably play the part of Droopy Drawers. On the way out of the theater we had a chance to talk to one of the Mabe boys and his wife. They seem to be very nice people. Most people in the Branson area are very family, God and country oriented. The Baldknobber show is free to veterans. All the shows recognize veterans during their show. 

October 25th - Went to two shows today. Todd Oliver and his talking dogs. This is one of those "don't miss" shows. You may have seen him on Leno or Lettermen. He was great. The second show, "Smoke on the Mountain", is a spoof on religion. It was good but I didn't think it was great. I had trouble understanding the actors, especially the women, when they talked fast and screeched. It started out as another beautiful day. 

It stated to cool off around noon and then it started to sprinkle. By evening it was cold. 

October 26th - Went to the Rankin Brothers show last night. Another great show. After the show we talked with the brothers and their father. Another friendly personable ground roots American family that has time to talk to everyone. Typical Branson show performers. 

Tonight it is headed for the low 30s.

 

October 27th - Time to leave Branson. We headed south and at the Arkansas Louisiana state line Millers continued south visiting friends and relatives, working their way to Florida. We headed west to visit Beryls sister-in-law in Houston on our way to Padre Island where we will be campground hosts in the National Park. Another night at Walmart where we filled up with $3.219 gasoline. Eat your heart out NewYorkers. We haven't paid more than $3.25 a gallon since we left New York. 

Walt Linden